CCREEE Develops Capacity of Hydropower Project Developers

At the 82nd Special Meeting of the Council of Trade and Economic Development (COTED), CARICOM endorsed the methodology, principles, and practices of Integrated Resource and Resilience Plans (IRRPs) as the preferred method for renewable energy (RE) development for CARICOM Member States, each of which will have produced a national IRRP by 2023. Mandated to work alongside Member States on the development and delivery of their IRRPS, the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) has kicked off a series of capacity building sessions to address critical elements of the IRRP process for RE development and integration. 

On Thursday, February 25, the CCREEE hosted the second session in its capacity building series, a training for energy system personnel on the Integration of Hydropower. The session was facilitated by the CCREEE’s thematic hub for hydropower, the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), located in Georgetown, Guyana. 

The session hosted energy stakeholders from regional utilities, regulatory bodies, universities and independent energy institutions. Hydropower Engineer and Consultant at the GEA, Mr. Tobias Dertmann led stakeholders through a two-hour presentation on the various types of hydropower plants, unique features of hydropower technology, the integration of hydropower into the grid, and the development steps for hydropower projects in rural areas.  A full recording of the session can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/HydropIRRP 

The capacity building sessions fall within the CCREEE IRRP Programme, supported by the Climate Resilient and Sustainable Energy Supply (Cli-RES) project. Cli-RES is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ, in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat